


Starting over

by DinRedfire



Category: Eternal Arcadia | Skies of Arcadia
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Loss, New Beginning, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 04:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16824718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinRedfire/pseuds/DinRedfire
Summary: Being stranded in the Dark Rift can change a man and moving forward can prove a challenge when the mind is still stuck in the past. Polly makes sure her husband doesn't face the future alone.





	Starting over

He was much skinnier than when she last saw him.

His hair and beard had grown, making him look feral when she saw him in the wreckage. His eyes were dull and held a distant look. But she recognized him nonetheless, and he did her as well. The fact that he was alive was nothing short of a miracle.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, content to finally be together. However, he had started up awake that night, screaming. He seemed to be calling to his crew. Polly held him close, waiting for him to come back to her, to the present.

When he realized what he had done, he looked at her with shame.

“I’m so sorry...” he apologized, his voice breaking.

“Don’t be,” she whispered, rubbing his back slowly.

She had her suspicions, but as the days passed, she realized his memories would never be the same again. She couldn’t imagine what he had gone through, but whatever had happened in all those years made a part of him snap. His mind often found itself in the wrong time, the wrong place. It confused some of the crew members at first. She usually intervened shortly, excusing her husband and taking him gently by the arm.

It wasn’t always easy. Sometimes he blacked out in the middle of a duty and forgot their captain’s name. He woke up at night drenched in cold sweat, muttering the names of men who would never come back from the rift’s darkness. On other days, she was greeted by flowers and sweet words, just like when he had begun courting her for the first time.

That morning, Polly was the first person up, preparing breakfast for the crew. Pow wandered in the kitchen, but never came too close.

“...I’ll save some for you too later, boy” she smiled, resuming her work and humming a tune to herself, focusing on her job.

She heard the door open, and wondered if Urala mistook today for her shift. Polly felt a pair of skinny arms wrap around her waist as a familiar, itchy mouth placed kisses on her cheeks.

“My, good morning to you too, Mister Robinson” she said.

His hand wandered to her stomach.

“How is our Anne doing today?”

Polly paused, closing her eyes.

“Robinson...” She placed her hand over his and gulped nervously, trying to gently bring him back to the present.

“Our girl is all grown up now... She’s taking care of the tavern as we speak.”

His eyes widened as he stepped back, his hands reaching for his head.

“Polly... How old is our girl now?”

“She’s almost fifteen now,” she reminded him, her heart torn as she saw his eyes well up with tears.

“I... missed so many of her birthdays... I missed so many of yours... Oh, what have I done, Polly...”

His voice broke. The tavern-keeper put her boiling pot aside as she stepped closer to her husband, her hands cupping his face, wiping away a tear.

“You are here now, alive. I can’t ask for more,” she reassured him.

“I don’t want to forget you again... or our daughter.” Robinson trembled, his hand reaching for Polly’s, his fingers tracing over hers.

They were never a rich couple. They couldn’t afford an engagement ring but it was a trivial matter for Polly anyway. She didn’t need some jewelry to prove her lifelong love to her husband.

“You won’t. You remembered us despite everything you went through, didn’t you?” she gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

“What... can I do now? I can’t change the past...” he muttered.

“But we can focus on the present and our future. We have plenty of time, we can start over.”

She was hopeful. If there was one thing the captain of their crew always said, it was to never give up.

“Start over...” Robinson muttered.

He raised his eyes and met hers. He no longer had that faraway look; it was the eyes of her husband, clear and focused. The eyes that made her love him to begin with.

“We... can do that, yes. I will never leave again. We can take care of our tavern with Anne and...” his voice trailed off.

“And what?” she asked, looking at him with expectation.

“Maybe we could give our Annie a little brother or sister...”

Polly let out a small, delighted laugh before planting her lips against her husband’s. As she stepped away, she gazed at him lovingly.

“Despite everything... You’re still you.”


End file.
